Carrie Moritz, Gazette
On Monday, July 12, the Garretson City Council met in regular session. At that time, the council authorized several pieces of infrastructure, including installation of a sidewalk on Dows, driveway off 5th Street near Hwy 11, and a 31.5% match for a bike trail from Frank to 485th Ave.
The council began with committee reports. The Park Board reported that the shade structure near the playground was completed, and they were working on obtaining more picnic tables to place in it. City Maintenance Supervisor Craig Nussbaum reported that the truck route was mostly complete, with seeding and signs remaining.
As a part of committee reports, the council reviewed two estimates that had been received for the installation of a sidewalk along the south side of Dows Street from Main Avenue to Railroad Avenue. One estimate had come in around $50,000 for Big Al's Construction and one had been received for $33,001.20 from Drake Construction. After some discussion regarding ADA compliance and a bit of curb and gutter that will be required, the council voted to approve the installation by Drake Construction. Work is likely to begin yet this summer.
The council then continued its discussion of building inspection and non-permit fines, and the development of a noise ordinance. Neither ordinance had action taken but are both in the works.
The fines that would be implemented were a part of the building inspection discussion, with council member Bill Hoskins requesting that inspections be done in a timely manner. In the past, inspections have sometimes taken months, which would not be an option if the City was going to be levying fines. The past digressions were acknowledged, with Mayor Greg Beaner reminding the council that they now have a new building inspector who is driving this process of changing and updating procedures and requirements. City Finance Officer Anna Uhl stated that now, 24 hours for inspection is the gold standard. However, a request for an inspection needs a minimum of 24 hours prior to occupation.
Mayor Beaner then suggested some pricing options, which the council appeared amenable to. He suggested that a stop work order be given a fine of $500 per day if it isn't followed, and a fine of $500 for failure to obtain a permit. Currently, residents have up to 3 days to obtain a permit once work has begun, and a $150 fine if it is not obtained.
After some discussion, council member Karen Stainbrook suggested a tiered fine for failure to obtain a permit, based on how large the project is. Council member Dave Bonte agreed, and Hoskins suggested more research be done into what costs would be appropriate for fines. At that time, the council gave the mayor permission to continue moving ahead with this initiative.
For the noise ordinance, more discussion was had on appropriate times and items of enforcement. The issue had initially come about due to a complaint about mowing prior to 6:00 a.m. There were suggestions of making the lawn noise portion seasonal, as the council did not want to restrict the use of snow blowers during early morning hours. The council encouraged Mayor Beaner and Uhl to continue working on an ordinance that would fit Garretson.
The council then had their second reading of the cannabis ordinance. The ordinance is nearly identical to the one adopted by both the county and the City of Sioux Falls, and was the one recommended by the Municipal League of South Dakota. It restricts the sales of cannabis for medicinal purposes within city limits, and states that no business permits for operation will be issued until state rules are established. There was very little discussion prior to the vote, which approved the ordinance unanimously.
Next, the council agreed to plat the land to the east of the final house on 4th Street, where there is a small stand of trees. The land is currently owned by Owen and Lois Wiese, but a neighbor had expressed interest in expanding his lot. City Maintenance Supervisor C. Nussbaum reminded realtor Bob Julson, who was on hand to answer the council's questions, that a water main runs through that section and the City would need access to the main, which restricts the amount of building that can occur there. Julson agreed to the restrictions, and the council approved the plat.
After approving a land use permit for a new barn off Dows to replace the one that burned down this past spring, the council approved a temporary liquor license to be issued to Big Ern's Sports Cabin for the Open House to be held at Frontline Crop Solutions on August 6.
Mayor Beaner then turned to Infrastructure Design's Chad Hanisch, who presented a letter of intent to be submitted to the State of South Dakota to build a bike trail. The trail has been a part of the City's plan for several years, part of Grow Garretson's initiative to grow the city, and recently, a way to re-connect the city to Palisades State Park when the new entrance is opened.
Hanisch said the project had been broken down into two phases for the City's portion. Phase 1A would be creating a paved bike trail from Frank Avenue to 485th Street, and Phase 1B would be creating an underpass across 485th to connect to the trail from Palisades State Park. Hanisch is intending to request that Game Fish and Parks contribute to the costs of the underpass, but also pointed out that they are going to great expense to extend their bike trail to the northern edge of the park.
Hanisch explained that competition for State funding for bike trails has increased over the past several years, but with the state park behind this initiative, the City stands a good chance of obtaining funding. However, it is a matched-fund program, and the City must come up with the amount that they're able to contribute prior to submitting a letter of intent by July 15. After those are received, the State chooses which entities can apply. After application, which is due in September, submissions are whittled down even further to those entities who will be interviewed. Post-interview, the State will then decide which applicants receive grant funding. Hanisch stated that an entity must have a good match of at least 20% to even be considered, but was suggesting closer to 30-35%.
The current bike path fund, which is separate from the sidewalk/frontage maintenance fund, has $53,000 in it. Uhl stated that since it can take 2-3 years for the project to come to fruition, that a matched amount of $150,000 would not be out of reach. The council agreed that a 31.5% match, which would equal out to approximately $150,000, was a good number, and authorized the mayor to sign the letter of intent.
The council then tackled the request to add another entrance into the industrial development.
This request had begun a few months ago, with council member Bonte informing the council that the development had had several inquiries about the land along Highway 11, but had not had any commitments due to a lack of access.
Initial plans had a connecting road from the south end of Nordstrom Avenue to the Highway, but the Department of Transportation was rejecting requests to add another entrance off the highway. This left few options except to build an entrance behind VIP Livestock off 5th Street. The council was initially hesitant due to the short distance from the highway. However, after more explanations over the past few council meetings and a commitment from a company that is willing to buy the full lot rather than just a section, and is willing to put in the entrance at their cost, the council agreed to allow the project to move ahead. They stipulated that this be a driveway only and not a through street. Industrial Development board member John Brinkman, who was at the meeting to answer any questions, agreed.
After the mayor asked if there was any further business, realtor Bob Julson asked the City to continue to encourage more multi-family development and housing in town, as those are in short supply everywhere and especially in Garretson. The council concurred and thanked him for his suggestion, also noting that Marlyn Conrad had been building multi-family townhomes as fast as he could and had them sold even before construction began.
The council then entered executive session and the meeting adjourned. The next regular meeting of the City Council will be held on Monday, August 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion.
